Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

I think you will enjoy Chergui & Five O`Clock Au Gingembre (or Jeux de Peau - I do not like this but you might) since they are quite sweet and gourmand-y long the line of majority of your fragrances
Many SL fragrances, especially the floral ones behave very differently on different people so I would against buying blind any of them. However, the ones I suggested are the one that, based on my personal observation, behave well on majority

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

It's always hard to buy blind, but then you seem to like spicy, gourmand, woody, which is exactly what SL does, so I think you'll be fine. Great suggestions already. Ambre sultan if you like a dry, spicy amber; Arabie for bitter herbs; Jeux de peau if you like supergourmands and caramel; Borneo if you like patchouli. My favorite exports are perhaps Tubereuse criminelle and Muscs Koublai Khan, but these are more dangerous for your tastes: Tubereuse criminelle is a big floral, and MKK is a dirty musk.

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

If you have Pure Havane, you may like Chergui; I always thought PH was the more affable, trashy version of the Lutens. Some others you may consider are Borneo 1834, which is a deep, dry, unsweetened coco and patchouli; Femenite du Bois, a beautiful spiced fruit and cedar; or maybe Santal Majuscule, which will satisfy you sweet tooth. Happy sniffing!

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

Chergui - Warm spices and soft woods surround a core of hay-and-vanilla coumarin, honey, and a light tobacco. A hint of rose gives it a genteel lushness. If there's anything in the SL line that I'd consider a sure-fire blind buy for someone with your likes, it would be this.

You might also like:

Ambre Sultan - dark and resinous amber with a bunch of thick wood and spice, quite different from your usual powdery and soft amber.
Chene - gorgeous woody oriental with a hint of rum and beeswax.
Borneo 1834 - Imagine if you took A*Men and removed all the sweetness and the goopy tar note. Smells almost musty in its stark dryness, like an old library filled with dusty shelves.
Five o'clock gingembre - gingerbread and tea with a hint of chocolatey patchouli

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

The bell bottles contain scents that are sold only in the Paris store (or online in Europe). Some of them sometimes make their way into the export line (with the square bottles), for a time or permanently. In theory, if something is sold in both lines, the content should be exactly the same. But even Serge Lutens reformulates from time to time, so this need not always be the case. The export bottles also come in dab form, but the box contains also a spray, which you can attach; the bell bottles cannot receive a spray, so people simply decant if they want to spray. The export are 50ml, while the bell jars are 75. I think the export is usually cheaper per ml (though not always) but I haven't redone the math recently.

Re: 2 Serge Lutens to pick!

Originally Posted by cacio

It's always hard to buy blind, but then you seem to like spicy, gourmand, woody, which is exactly what SL does, so I think you'll be fine. Great suggestions already. Ambre sultan if you like a dry, spicy amber; Arabie for bitter herbs; Jeux de peau if you like supergourmands and caramel; Borneo if you like patchouli.

I was going to say there is also a fruity theme going on, with Aventus, 1 Million, Spicebomb and Pure Havane. So I would suggest Daim Blond and Feminite du Bois need a sniff too... but you are blind buying!

So I'll have to go with everyone else and say Chergui and Five O`Clock Au Gingembre. They are the ones you are least likely to dislike, crowd pleasers.